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All posts for the month February, 2013

Well, I finally got around to finishing up the tropical enclosure that I started putting together last fall. I’ve been using it for my tropicals ever since, but this past week I put the final touches on and painted it up.

I wanted to have a nicer piece of furniture around the house so that it doesn’t look so messy when I winter my tropicals indoors. My wife has been very supportive, and I think she appreciates the steps taken in order for the display to be a bit nicer.

I painted the inside flat white because it is supposed to reflect a large amount of light, and since this was the only light the trees were getting I wanted to maximize the reflection as much as possible. Another feature added to keep my wife, and newborn, happy was to put a piece of solar screen on the front of the enclosure. This keeps the light in and doesn’t shine in the house anymore.

I decided that I wanted to make a frame first, and then I would attach the outside pieces to the frame. I made room for the T5HO lights so that you wouldn’t see the fixture, and the cord would be hidden out the back. I made a second light enclosure that way I could expand in the future if need be.

It was a project that turned out well, but I have learned a lot and I think that it could have come out better. The ficus trees that I have had inside the enclosure have done great and I couldn’t be happier with that.